Page 62 of Discovering Her Earl

“Lord Melville departed at dawn, my lady.”

“He left?” He’d left? He’d kissed her so passionately she’d wanted him to do more, and then this morning he’d… left? That couldn’t have been coincidence.

She cleared her throat and offered a shrug of nonchalance.

“Did he leave a message?”

“No, my lady.”

She forced a smile to her lips—the very lips the earl had kissed the night before—and nodded toward the footmen.

“Then I suppose I don’t need to wait for him.”

They filled her plate with food, and she thought she might be sick.

After breakfast, with her trunks loaded, she left Dalkeith Castle with Nettie as a companion. It may have been considered scandalous to travel alone with the earl, but it would be dangerous to make the journey home on her own.

The young woman kept to her knitting or embroidery and Lainey envied her ability to concentrate on such tasks while the carriage swayed, without getting sick. Lainey spent the first day looking out the window and trying her best not to panic on the occasions they traveled over a bridge.

It was impossible to not think of Julian and wonder why he had left without so much as a note to explain why.

She’d told him she’d already sent her decision to Uncle Henry. Had Julian decided it was no longer worth it to attempt to change her mind now that the die was cast?

She didn’t think so. She’d felt the way his body had responded to hers the night before. She didn’t know much of men’s bodies, but she didn’t think they could fake such things.

No, his kindness had been real. His passion had been real as well. She would know.

At least she thought so.

She’d never been kissed before but something had sizzled between them.

If nothing else she felt awakened by his kiss. Much like the tale her mother used to tell her of Sleeping Beauty. Only one man had been able to unlock her from her frozen state.

Lainey had been frozen in anger for years and Julian was the only one who could release her.

She’d forgiven him, and her forgiveness had been sealed with a kiss. But then he’d left without a word.

She didn’t know what to think of it.

By the seventh day of riding in silence with Nettie, Lainey was nearly ready to try reading again to pass the time. Fortunately, they arrived home the next day.

It felt strange to be back at Darlington House. So much had happened since she’d been there last. When she’d entered her home previously, she’d been filled with anger and didn’t know how amazing a kiss could be. Everything had changed.

Aunt Rose was the first to come out of the drawing room to greet her. The woman smiled and hugged her tightly.

“I’ve missed you so much. I received your letters, but they lacked details. You must tell me everything.” She tilted her head to the side and pressed a hand to her chest. “Please tell me you and the earl got along.”

“Yes, Auntie. We did.”

“I was worried when Mrs. Leighton wrote to tell us they needed to stay to help their son and daughter-in-law with the new baby. I’m so glad the new mother is improved, but I was concerned that the two of you were alone all that time.”

Lainey hid her surprise, but asked, “Why?”

“It was no secret you didn’t care for the earl before you left. I worried you would have hidden in your room and not spoken to him.”

“Of course not.” At least not the whole time. “The earl and I became good friends.” Friends whose tongues had been in each other’s mouths, she thought to herself. A sense of longing came over her. She wondered when or if she might have the opportunity to do it again.

“Splendid!” her aunt said shaking her from her thoughts.